Plumbing the depths of The Evil Within

The Evil Within is a video game for adults, with jump scares, violence and plenty of swearing. To give an idea of what the game has to offer the mature player along with what the ratings agencies have said about the violence, I put together this short guide for those new to the genre.

Background

The Evil Within is a survival horror game where you need to stay alive while investigating an "evil force".

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While there is combat this differs from an action game -- bullets are limited, some enemies are indestructible and running and hiding is often a better course than fighting. There are some role playing elements, including the upgrading of your character's abilities and weaponry.

You play Detective Sebastian Castellanos, who while investigating a mass murder finds himself trapped in a nightmare world of deranged monsters and the greater evil force behind them.

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As with the Resident Evil or Silent Hill games there are also puzzles for Sebastian to solve to open doors and make progress as you explore. The Evil Within is a new game, and should make sense for newcomers to the genre.

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Developer

The Evil Within is developed by Tango Gameworks and directed by Shinji Mikami, creator of the

Resident Evil series, the most prominent series in the survival horror genre which Mikami's helped create.

Format

It's available for PS4, XBox One, PS3, XBox 360 and PC.

Cost

The standard edition has an RRP of £59.99 on next gen consoles, £49.99 on old gen consoles and £39.99 on PC. A season pass allowing access to three downloadable content packs as they are released costs £14.99, or the packs can be purchased individually for a greater total cost.

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Duration

The Evil Within is expected to take around 20 hours to complete, with skilled players finishing quicker.

Mikami's games are usually linear, so further play-throughs will remain similar to the first, but also usually reward repeat plays on higher difficulty level with bonuses. Extra downloadable chapters will also be available to buy after release, or via a season pass.

Ratings

In the UK, PEGI rate The Evil Within as suitable for those 18 or over, citing content descriptors for extreme violence, violence towards defenceless people and strong language. PEGI describe the game as "graphically gory" with "strong graphic violence throughout, the most extreme of which is where [Sebastian] is decapitated by a gruesome monster with a chainsaw". They also highlight the game's "use of strong swearing including the word 'fuck'."

In the USA the ESRB rate The Evil Within as M for Mature, only suitable for the over 17s with additional content descriptors for blood and gore, intense violence and strong language. The ESRB go on to say that players "use knives, pistols, shotguns, and explosives to kill human-like creatures and monsters". It highlights the intense combat "accompanied by screams of pain and realistic gunfire" and highlights that "some attacks result in impalement and dismemberment/decapitation, with large blood-splatter effects".

Common Sense Media described The Evil Within to us as "not for kids for its very mature and graphic content. There are copious amounts of blood and gore within the environments and throughout the gameplay". It highlighted the player's role in the violence, "this includes everything from manipulating gruesome medical experimental puzzles to killing monsters and humans alike". "Needless to say, the use of guns, knives, explosives, and other weapons means that violence within this survival horror game will be at a premium. The game features lots of jump scares intended to terrify and disturb players, and has strong profanity throughout the title."

Overview

The Evil Within is a story of horror and survival, with an underlying theme of the potential for human beings to be driven to do evil things. The barbed-wire tangled enemies have been tortured to make them monsters, and the villain taunts Sebastian about the terrible things he's going to make Sebastian do.

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The Evil Within is a suitably horrific return to the genre. Fans are likely to flock to a game that prioritises scares and tension over the more action oriented horror games of recent years. It's a game that is definitely for adults only, but grown-up horror fans will find a lot to enjoy here.